News18 Daybreak : Mecca Masijid Blast Acquittals, BJP's Second Karnataka List and Other Stories You May Have Missed
In case you missed it
A special anti-terror court on acquitted right-wing activist Swami Aseemanand and four others in the 2007 Mecca Masjid blast case, ruling that the prosecution failed to prove charges against them. A massive blast had ripped through the Mecca Masjid on May 8, 2007, during Friday prayers, killing nine people and wounding 58. The case was initially probed by the local police before being transferred to the CBI, and finally in 2011 to the NIA, the country's premier anti-terror investigation agency. Ten people with alleged links to Hindu right-wing organisations were accused in the case. However, only five of them who were acquitted on Monday faced trial.
Just a mere coincidence of timing? Hours after acquitting right-wing activist Swami Aseemanand and four others in the 2007 Mecca Masjid blast case, the judge at the special anti-terror court in Hyderabad submitted his resignation. However, K Ravinder Reddy cited personal reasons for his resignation and said it had nothing to do with the judgement.
The BJP’s second list with 82 names proves that the party’s chief ministerial candidate B S Yeddyurappa still has clout and he has managed to secure tickets for most of his loyalists. The four BJP MLAs who went to jail during the BJP regime have also been nominated by the party. The saffron party seems to have focused more on winnability than any other considerations. Yeddyurappa, who was on back foot till last week, has regained the strength and has an upper hand in selecting the candidates. Take a look at the names of candidates on the second list.
Monsoon rains are likely to be 97 percent of their long-term average in 2018, the meteorological department has said, raising the possibility of economic growth in a pre-election year and reassuring farmers ahead of summer planting in a country where only half of the farmland is irrigated.
A video has surfaced, giving a new twist to the Unnao rape case, in which the doctor who had conducted the medical test of the rape survivor last year claim that 'she is not a minor.'
A woman lecturer of a private college in Aruppukottai was taken into custody in connection with her alleged advise to students "to adjust with some officials" in return for higher marks and money, in what is seen as a suggestion for a sexual favour.
When KS Puttannaiah died of a massive cardiac arrest in February this year, the 68-year-old legislator from Melukote was fondly remembered by various leaders from across party lines. In Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's words, the farmer movement had lost a tall leader - one who knew the realities on the ground. And when it came to the question of replacing him, his supporters quickly turned to his son - Darshan Puttannaiah. 40-year-old Darshan left his job at a tech firm in the US for Karnataka polls. More on him, here.
Numbers can sometimes have a funny way of putting things into perspective. Perhaps by coincidence. An RTI reply revealed that the Congress government in Karnataka had spent around Rs 56 crores over the last three months to highlight achievements of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. The same number 56 was also touted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at an elections rally in the run-up to the 2014 general elections. He had famously directed the ‘chappan inch ki chati’ barb at Mulayam Singh Yadav, saying that a 56-inch chest is needed to develop UP like Gujarat.
This weekend when people from all over the nation came out into the streets to voice their uproar against the horrific incidents of rape in Jammu and Kashmir's Kathua and Uttar Pradesh's Unnao districts, the BJP MP from Unnao – Sakshi Maharaj – was busy inaugurating a nightclub named 'Let's Meet'. Ironically, the ultra-conservative seer-turned-politician has always railed against partying.
In an embarrassment to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, a 19-year-old man was found masquerading as a doctor on the hospital premises for almost five months. Adnan Khurram had made contacts among doctors across departments as well as medical students, and even used his fake doctor’s accreditation to attend various medical and political events.
At the recently completed 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, India produced some scintillating moments of sporting excellence.
What happened when Sachin Tendulkar tried his hand at Gully cricket?
Agree or disagree?
The stage is set for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Key players are making their moves with great caution but the picture is becoming clearer as the opposition closes in to challenge Prime Minister Narendra Modi for another term in office. Bypoll results in Gorakhpur and Phulpur have made a dent in the TINA (There Is No Alternative) factor. And with elections just twelve months away, the Modi factor is being pulled from all sides by regional satraps. The politics of confrontation practised by the BJP is now coming back with equal ferocity. Detractors are retaliating with a new found aggression and raids on opposition leaders or ‘fake news’ orders have only galvanised the amorphous opposition to take a concrete shape.
Gang rape and murder is a horrific crime, a crime warranting the harshest penalties in every country in the world. Yet, there are circumstances when such a crime is not just a crime where it is committed but becomes an international crime, one which under international law every country in the world is mandated to act against, and prevent. In this context, the question is, was the horrific gangrape and murder of a 10-year-old child in Kathua, committed with the intent to destroy in whole, or in part, the Bakherwal community of nomads? Reports on the chargesheet filed by the Crime Branch of the State Police tend to suggest so. Avi Singh argues that this warrants that a charge of genocide to be brought, defended, and adjudicated.